Dairy Free Diet

Lactose is a white crystalline sugar present in the milk of humans, cows, sheep and goats. An intolerance is caused when there are insufficient amounts of an enzyme called lactase in the small intestine which allows the body to digest lactose efficiently. If lactose is not digested properly, it causes painful gastric symptoms, nausea, bloating, excess mucus and sinus problems. Lactase deficiency is common in 70% of the worlds population, and it is estimated most cannot efficiently digest milk products past the age of 4 years when this enzyme level declines.

There are many arguments for reducing and eliminating dairy from our diet with research showing dairy to be implicated in cancers. Population studies indicate the higher the milk consumption, the higher the risk of breast cancer. Ovarian cancer has also been linked to milk consumption. A HarvardUniversity study found that the one thing that women with this cancer had in common was that they had eaten dairy products more frequently than women without cancer. There appears to be a higher risk of prostate cancer and non-Hodgkins lymphoma with diets higher in dairy produce.

Osteoporosis rates appear to be lower in societies where few or no dairy products are consumed. This maybe because they are high protein foods and high protein intakes result in urinary excretion of calcium.

The type of saturated fat in dairy products is also the worst offender for making cholesterol in the body. Perhaps it is no surprise that Scandinavian countries have a high epidemic of heart disease which could be due to their high dairy consumption.

Finally the protein in cow’s milk has been linked to juvenile diabetes, allergies, behavioural problems and autism in infants.

Add salmon chopped up near end of cooking. Add roasted vegetables and serve with buckwheat noodles or basmati/brown rice. This is great in winter!!

Banana dairy free ice-cream

4 bananas

½ cup cashews nuts

½ cup dates

1 tablespoon raw honey

½ cup frozen cherries

Blend ingredients and freeze. Should be ready to serve in about 6 hours.

Banana and Cashew Nut Cream

Blend in mixer 2 bananas,

½ to 1 cup of cashews

1 cup of water

1 tbsp of raw honey.

Serve with fruit salad.

Daily Calcium Intake

The recommended daily intake of calcium is 800mg to 1400mg per day. This is important for bone maintenance and osteoporosis prevention along with several other nutrients (zinc, V.C, magnesium, boron, vitamins A and D) and life style factors (exercise - particularly resistance training, alcohol and coffee intake).